Folding chair.



" PATENTED MAR. 19, 1907.

'VH, w. SPINDLER.

I FOLDING CHAIR. AIPPLIOA'I'ION Hum 9013.17. 1906.

HENRY W. SPINDLER, OF VERONA, PENNSYLVANIA;

FOLDING CHAIR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 19, 1907.

Application filed October 17, 1906. Serial No. 339,320.

10 w/wm it puny concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY'W. SPINDLER, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Verona, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inFolding Chairs, of which the following is a specification, referencebeing had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to chairs; and more particularly to a chairdesigned for use in theaters, auditoriums, and large assemblyrooms.

The invention has for its object to provide a folding chair that can bereadily collapsed and placed in the floor or its support, whereby asmooth and uninterrupted floor-surface is provided in the room in whichthe chair is used. To this end I have devised a folding chair whereinpositive and reliable means are employed for locking the chair in itsfolded position, also novel means for immediately placing the chair ina-useful position when the same is released from a folded position.-

With the above and other objects in view, which will more readily appearas the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novelconstruction, combination, and arrangement of parts to be hereinaftermore fully described and then specifically pointed out in the appendedclaims.

Referring to the drawing forming part of this specification, likenumerals of reference designate corresponding parts throughout theseveral views, in wh1ch Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improvedchair in an operative or set-up position, the chair being shown indotted lines as partially folded. Fi .2 is a side elevation of the samefolde beneath a'floor or its support. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detailsectional view of a portion of my improved chair, illustrating themanner in which it is locked in engagement with a floor or its support.Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the chair partially folded. Fig. 5 is adetail perspective view of the mechanism employed for raising andmaintaining the back of the chair in an elevated position after it hasbeen released from a folded position, and Fi 6 is a similar view of the,mechanism emp oyed for raising the body of the chair to an elevatedposition.

To put my invention into practice, I construct my improved chair of asuitable seat 1, having a back 2, the back of said chair being pivotallyconnected to the seat 1 by side plates 3, mounted u on the ends of theshaft 4, which passes t ough the seat 1. The side plates 3 are providedwith depending lugs 5, the object of which will presently appear.

The seat 1 and its back 2 are supported by two rear legs 6 and two frontlegs 7, the legs 6 being pivotally connected to the seat 1, as at 8,while the legs 7 are mounted upon the ends of a shaft 9, j ournaled inthe seat 1.

The floor 10, which supports my improved chair, is provided with anopening 11, and pivotally connected to the sides of the open-,, ing 11,as at 12, are the rear legs 6 of the chair, while the front legs 7thereof are pivotally connected to the floor 10 directly beneath thefront edge of the opening 11.

To maintain the back 2. of the chair in an elevated position, I providethe shaft 4 with a fixed disk 14, having a notch'15 formed therein. Uponthe shaft 4 is mounted a spiral spring 16, having its one end secured tothe back rail of the chair-seat, as at 17, while its opposite end issecured to the disk 14, as at 18. Theback rail of the seat is providedwith a resilient hook-shaped arm 19, adapted to engage in the notch ofthe disk 14 and hold the back 2 of the chair in a folded position whilethe chair is being placed into the opening 11 of the floor 10.

To maintain the chair in a set-up or useful position, I provide theshaft 9 with a coilspring 20, having its one end secured to the shaft 9,as at 21, while its opposite end is se-. cured to the front rail of theseat 1, as at 22.

The manner of folding my improved chair is as follows: The back 2 of thechair is folded downwardly upon the seat 1, and then the seat and backare moved rearwardly and rotated upon the legs 7 toward the front edgeof the o ening 11. This places the seat 1 and the bac 2 in a positionshown in Fig. 4 of the drawings. The seat 1 is now forced downwardlyuntil it reaches the horizontal plane shown in Fig. 2. To retain it inthis position within the opening 11 of the floor 10, I provide the front'edge of the opening 11 with a spring-held latch 23, operated by abutton 24. The latch. is adapted to slip into a recess 25, formed in therear rail of the seat 1.

To release the chair, it is only necessary to move the button 24, atwhich time the chair will swing upwardly into position as shown in. Fig.1 of the drawing, this being accomplished through the medium of thesprings and 16.

In order'that the back 2 of the chair will be released by the suddenmovement of the seat 1 when assuming a set-up position, the notch 15 isrounded, whereby the back 2 will be easily released by a sudden jarring.

To support the back 2 in an upright position, the depending lugs of theside plates 3 are adapted to engage the upper ends of the rear legs 6.

It will be obvious that my improved folding chair fits snugly within theopening 11 of the floor and provides a smooth surface with the exceptionof the button 24, which can'be countersunk within the floor, if desired.

I do not care to confine myself to the type of chair in connection withwhich my improved folding mechanism is employed, and such changes in theminor details of construction as are permissible by the appended claimsmay be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of theappended Claims.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The combination with a suitable support having an opening formedtherein, of a folding chair, said chair consisting of a seat, two rearlegs pivotally connected to said seat and to the sides of said opening,two front legs pivotally connected to said seat and to said supportbeneath said opening, a back pivotally connected to said seat andcontacting with said rear legs, means to hold said seat in an elevatedposition, means to hold said back in a vertical position, and means tolock said chair in said opening, when folded therein, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a folding chair, the combination with a support having an openingformed therein, of a chair-seat, a shaft carried by said seat adj acentits forward end, front chair-legs connected at their upper ends to thesaid shaft and at their lower ends pivoted to the support beneath theopening, a chairback, a shaft extending through the chair-seat and towhich the chair-back is pivoted, means connected to said chair-seat andsaid shaft for holding the chair-back in an elevated position, rearsupporting-legs pivoted at their upper ends to the chair-seat and attheir lower ends to the side walls of the opening in the support, andmeans connected to the shaft adjacent the front end of the chair-seatfor securing the latter in an elevated position.

3. In a folding chair, a chair-seat, a shaft carried by said seatadjacent the forward end thereof, front supporting-legs connected attheir upper ends to said shaft, rear supporting-legs pivoted at theirupper ends to said seat, a support having an opening into which thelower ends of said legs extend, and to which they are pivoted at theirlower ends, a second shaft extending through the chairseat, a chair-backpivoted to said second shaft, means engaging said second shaft to holdthe chair-back in an elevated position, and means engaging thefirst-mentioned shaft to hold the chair-seat in the elevated, position.

4. In a folding chair, a support having an opening above which the chairis disposed when in its set-up form and into which the chair is receivedwhen in the folded. form, a chair-seat, a shaft carried by said seatadjacent its forward end, two front legs connected at their upper endsto said shaft and pivoted at their lower ends to the support, two rearlegs pivoted at their upper ends to the chair-seat and at their lowerends to the sup port, a chair-back carried by the chair-s at,

spring-actuated means for holding the chairback in an elevated position,spring means for holding the chair-seat in an elevated position, andmeans carried by the support for locking the chair within the opening insaid support when folded therein.

In testimony whereof I allix my signature in the presence of twowitnesses.

HENRY W. SPINDLER.

Witnesses:

MAX H. SROLOVITZ, A. J. Truce.

